This is our kitchen table. We’ve had it for about 15 years. As you can tell, it’s well used…and abused. It is where we eat, play board games, do homework, read bedtime stories, do arts and crafts. It has been stained with nail polish, stabbed with forks, soaked with water, chewed by the dog. We do our best to protect it, and wipe up spills quickly, but it is no surprise to us that the finish is wearing off and there are scratches all over the place. Would this bother you? It doesn’t bother us a bit. It tells our story and we know that one day, when the kids have grown up, we’ll probably refinish it (only to have grandchildren leave their own marks and start the cycle once again). In the meantime, it continues to serve its purpose very well as a focal point for our family time.

Why are we talking about our kitchen table? Because, the way we see it, concrete countertops are a lot like our kitchen table. We can’t promise that they won’t stain or etch. We can’t guarantee that they won’t chip if you bang them hard. But we can promise that, if you take good care of them, they’ll last for a very long time – and that, whatever happens to them, there is probably a way to fix them…whether you choose to tackle each mark as it happens, or live with your story until you’re ready to refinish the whole surface all at once. A house, after all, is not a static object. It’s a system – and the backdrop for our lives. No matter how perfect a house may seem when you first move in, if you really live in it – like so many of us do now like never before – stuff happens, things get damaged, systems wear out. Personally, we prefer to know that we can repair something, rather than relying on a promise that it won’t break.

Tell us, do you consider ease of repair when making purchasing decisions?